If you are on the outside looking into the online marketing world, you might be wondering how they do it. How do businesses that exist only online actually make money without a storefront or traditional presence offline? The answer lies in the way that they promote their products by leveraging online tools:
SEO
For any online business, marketing is a crucial part of their strategy. After all, they don’t have reps in person that can boost their brand awareness, so concepts like SEO are things they learn to master early on. SEO refers to ranking higher in organic search results like Google. It involves building out (high-quality) content based on keywords in their niche and using other metrics (like site engagement, which Google also takes into account in rankings) to be found on the first page, so they get more traffic. What you don’t want to do is buy links or Google reviews as it’s definitely not approved by them, and can actually result in getting your business blacklisted.
Amazon
Amazon also has an SEO algorithm. However, their system differs from Google. Many of the rankings for products depend on product reviews and purchases (conversions), so entrepreneurs selling on this platform will often give away their product or offer incentives for reviews. If you have a physical product and want to sell on Amazon, make sure you have a review strategy before launching because at the end of the day, it’s worth trying. Amazon regularly takes the top sport for corporate reputation, outperforming other popular companies such as Google and Apple, and that reputation with impact sales.
Affiliates
What if you could have an army of salespeople that promoted your product for free, and you only paid them when they made a sale? This is precisely how affiliate marketing works. You can have people sign up to offer a link to your product or service, driving more profits and eliminating upfront expenses. Numerous networks allow you to sign up for this service.
AdWords
Paid advertising on Google is a significant way for any company to grow quickly. Unlike SEO where you have to wait months for rankings, you can be found instantly with AdWords. However, keep in mind that this strategy involves a lot of cash to keep up with the competition. Furthermore, your landing page needs to match up with the ads, as your relevance score will affect how much you pay for bids and the chances of you winning the ad placement.
When it comes to online businesses, marketing is king. And the good news is that any company can learn these techniques and tactics that online entrepreneurs are using. However, make sure to understand the critical differences between your customers and other markets so that your messaging is on brand and relevant to your audience, then enjoy the extra profit and conversions as a result.
References and Resources:
The 7 Deadly Sins of SEO | VIZTECH
How To Set Up AdWords: A Checklist | Google Adwords
8 Reasons to Make Selling on Amazon a High Priority | Evolved Commerce
Affiliate Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide | Neil Patel